If
you have decided that you want we have, and are willing to go to any
length to get it....(bigbook pg 58)
(what
started with two men now has 12 million anonymous members attending
meetings each week, in over two hundred fellowships, around the globe, so,
to me, it seems that anonymous recovery has global importance, to god.)
now we
need to introduce the Eleventh Tradition:
"Our
public relations policy is based on attraction rather than
promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of
press, radio, and films."
attraction
will be our focus, after we provide some background information. in
essence, we will be focusing on what we are attracting to our life
(lives).
as a
young adult, was taught how to perform the work that my employer
desired. after close to a decade, decided to try it on my own, so to
speak, because if i could make anywhere near the money that i was making
for my employer, i would be a very rich man. so, went into business,
and that led to my becoming a multi-millionaire. but when those
activities failed, and overnight i was a homeless pauper, i sat there and
wondered what in hell had happened, in my pitiful and pathetic state of
consciousness, that can only be described as "very
painful." need it be mentioned that i certainly did not want
what i had?
the
nutshell on that is that we watch things happen, and learn how, then we
make things happen, and finally we wonder what in the world has
happened?
remember
reading, while sitting and waiting to be called for jury duty, in a
courthouse, a book that had a statement, "What we learn after we
think that we know it all is really important." another classic
expression is, "What happens to a man is not important. What is
important is what happens on the inside of man." now we will
close these clichés by stating, "The decisions that we make today
directly and proportionately affect the choices that we have available to
us tomorrow." (authors
unknown)
at the
end of this web page, a link will be provided about the "Law of
Attraction." it is my job to make sure that we try to keep
things in perspective, about what we are trying to do. we are
willing to grow along spiritual lines, not material lines. all of
the worldly things that were attracted to me, that were centered on money,
property, and prestige, were not eternal. they were fun, but when it
ended, for god's calling, there was one hell of a transition.
what we
really desire to attract to our lives is summed up in the following quote
from the bigbook, found on page eighty-five, which is in the tenth step
area of recovery:
It is easy to let up on
the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed
for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe. We are not cured of
alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the
maintenance of our spiritual condition. Every day is a day when we
must carry the vision of God's will into all of our activities.
"How can I best serve Thee - Thy will (not mine) be done."
These are thoughts which must go with us constantly. We can exercise our
will power along this line all we wish. It is the proper use of the
will.
let me
tell you how difficult this process is. in the world, we are trying
to see how much we can get. in anonymous recovery, we are trying to
see how much we can give. they are different worlds, or even
parallel universes, if you prefer. but it is not scientific, it must
be spiritual, from our heavenly father.
on a few
of our web pages, we state the scripture that says christ is the last
adam. next we state that our higher power is called the king of
kings, the lord of lords, and god of gods.
my pay
grade in that line up is that some of us are going to have to learn how to
be kings. but that concept is about spiritual kings, that do not
oppress their people, like the kings in the old testament, or like the
dictators of the world that we live in.
the
beginning of this global effort has a "tentative start" that can
be viewed at this link.
and the attorneys have already been advised that we have to contribute one
hundred million dollars, each year - anonymously, to the american red
cross, unless there is a tragedy like the tsunami that occurred at
christmas in 2005, that claimed about a quarter of million lives.
more would be required in a similar situation, depending on what the board
of governors established, from available funds. to put that into
proper perspective, our annual contribution is less than one third of one
percent of the american red cross budget, each year.
the point
is that we have hopes of a bodacious beginning, in the first year.
some, if not most, would call it obnoxious. what god is going to do,
in faith, in christ's millennium rule, has never been experienced,
before. but the messiah knows how much work has to be done, to
restore people to god, through repentance, and it is going to have to made
very desirable, on a very large scale.
one word
of caution about that though. even though many will choose to start
the process of repentance, which is a requirement for forgiveness, not all will be
forgiven. that is up to god, not any of us humans. that is why
the spiritual awakening is so mandatory, over the long haul, because it is
only god's Spirit that has the capacity to achieve the will of god, in all
things. and it is in step ten, according to the bigbook, on page
eighty-four, that we enter the realm of the Spirit. but we certainly
cannot go to step ten, from step three, or two, or step eight.
step ten
follows step nine, which states the following, on page seventy-nine:
Although these
reparations take innumerable forms, there are some general principles
which we find guiding. Reminding ourselves that we have decided to go to
any lengths to find a spiritual experience, we ask that we be given
strength and direction to do the right thing, no matter what the
personal consequences may be. We may lose our position or reputation or
face jail, but we are willing. We have to be. We must not shrink at
anything.
in my
first few months, remember a member from florida visiting our group, and
told us how at nine years sober, he remembered a hit and run accident that
he had caused, and had to go to the police, to see if there was anything
that he had to clear up. sat there and thought that i would never
have enough courage to do anything close to that. that is why we
have the slogan, "easy does it." when we just get to the
doors of recovery, we are no where near step nine, relative to the
spirituality that is needed for the necessary guidance.
in that
phase of recovery, in the chapter "into action" - page 83, it
also makes the following demands:
Yes, there is a long
period of reconstruction ahead. We must take the lead.
The spiritual life is
not a theory. We have to live it.
but
now the reason for this web page. please take time to view this
video on youtube, about "the law of attraction,"
which is close to twenty-five minutes in length. now, again, some
words of caution. for the right things to come into our lives, from
a spiritual perspective, rather than a material perspective, the following
are what the bigbook suggests, that we hope and pray can go with us in our
daily lives, and learn how to apply in the altruistic plane, as various
situations present themselves:
"Our very lives,
as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and
how we may help meet their needs." (bigbook
pg 20 - there is a solution)
"Our real purpose
is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and the people about
us." (bigbook pg 77 -
into action)
"Don't start out
as an evangelist or reformer. Unfortunately a lot of prejudice exists.
You will be handicapped if you arouse it. Ministers and doctors are
competent and you can learn much from them if you wish, but it happens
that because of your own drinking experience you can be uniquely useful
to other alcoholics. So cooperate; never criticize. To be helpful is our
only aim." (bigbook pg
89 - working with others)
"Give
and it shall be given unto you."
